The green fist slammed down hard on the table in front of Trott, almost splintering the wood with the force. "What have you done to him?!" He growled, glaring daggers into the hybrid. "He's become completely emotionless! You've made him hollow, a shadow of his former self. Now, you need to help him back." The hybrid simply leaned back in his chair, his beady black eyes meeting his friend's dark blue ones. He could see the look in them, it was one he knew well. But, this time, he just had to ignore it.

"...I can't."

"WHAT?!" The Mage asked angrily, not even fazing the Knight. He was too used to random outbursts of anger, so just raising his voice didn't scare the hybrid in the slightest. "You mean he's stuck as this emotionless twat?" He growled. Trott waved his hand absently, going back to his work. His King would not be happy if he got behind, especially over something like this - something so trivial.

"You're the one who suggested it. Why are you so worked up about it?" Smith let out an exasperated sigh. Sometimes Trott was the most understanding hybrid in the world. Other times he was just a plain twat. Why was this one of the times he had to be a twat?

"I didn't mean THIS. Just something to take his mind off of things, not change him completely." He sat down in a chair opposite Trott, his face in his hands. "What have I done?" He muttered. This was all his fault. If he had just said something else, like go for a walk or a rest or something, Ross wouldn't be how he is now. He'd still be their loveable friend. Trott glanced at Smith, placing his hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

"Should I get something for you, too?"

"...Will I remember this?"

"No." The Mage sat up, leaning back in his chair. He thought about it, glancing absently around the room. Would it be better to forget? Instead of worrying about what his friend used to be, he'd be focused on the present. Was that the best idea? Did he want to forget what they used to be like? "So?"

"...I...don't know. You'll remember how we were, right?" The walrus hybrid nodded. It was a burden he was willing to bear; he could easily act around the two so it seemed normal. It bothered him little that he'd lose his friends, at least on the surface. "...Shit." The green man growled, standing up. He started pacing around; it was a common practice when he was agitated or thinking.

"You don't have to tell me now. Just come back when you feel ready." Trott pointed out, his eyes glossing over the work he should currently be doing. He supposed it'd just have to wait for a little bit longer. "I won't tell Ross about it. Hand over my walrus heart." Smith raised an eyebrow, watching him place a hand over where his heart would be.

"How do you know you've got a walrus one?" The hybrid shrugged, and they shared a laugh. "Anyway, I'd better get back. The rebel might wake up any moment." Smith added, briskly exiting the room. Trott closed his eyes for a few moments, before he looked at the darkness to his left. Guilt spread through his body as he realised what he had just done. He had lied to one of his best friends, not once but twice, in the space of one conversation.

"Clueless." A voice came. Trott nodded, as Ross emerged from said darkness. "Why did you not force it on him?" Ross asked, his arms folding in front of his chest. "You could see what that rebel did to him." He pointed out, a slight interest in the way his friend was handling the situation.

"It doesn't work as well." The hybrid replied, even though it was a lie. He didn't want to make him forget. He hated himself for what he did to Ross, even if he could cope with it. Trott wanted to keep Smith as he was for as long as he could. "More will be forgotten if he willingly takes it." The lie slipped easily from his tongue, convincing the darker haired male completely. The King nodded, glancing at the door.

"I see." He murmured. "We cannot leave it too long. If he becomes too attached...the rebel will get the upper hand." Trott nodded. "If he shows signs of this, you must force it upon him. No matter what." The King then left as briskly as the Mage did. Trott sighed, slumping back down in his chair. He didn't want to hurt either of them. But, eventually, it would come down to either. One would end his friend, the other would end himself.

"...Sorry, Smith."

"We haven't seen him for weeks, Honeydew. Lalna is still hurt, so WE'VE got to save him." Lomadia crossed her arms in front of her chest. It was that 'You're not saying no' look that women gave; not the cutesy, innocent look either. Lomadia never liked 'cutesy' stuff anyway, and she was sometimes even more manly than Xephos or Honeydew. "What if they've hurt him? What if he's DEAD?!" She asked. The dwarf tried to calm the female, but there was no way to halt a storm. Skip forward a few minutes, after a long rant, Lomadia was now in tears with her new owl hat – the other one was never found by Lomadia, but a certain cat seemed to take a lot of interest in it... – pulled down slightly as she mumbled her boyfriend's name. Honeydew rubbed her arms gently, letting her cry.

"Ok, Lomadia. We'll try and save him. We'll do whatever it takes." He murmured. He hated seeing her like this. Honeydew wasn't even quite sure why he was so hesitant. No, he knew why. He wanted to save himself. He didn't want to risk his own freedom for Xephos. The dwarf cursed at himself; why was he so selfish?! After all this time, after everything Xeph had done...why couldn't he do this one thing for him? Well, now he would. He didn't want Lomadia to be sad like this for one more day. A noise from across the room caught their attentions. Lalna was leaning heavily against the door, his breathing heavy and ragged.

"I-If you're going...I'm c-coming too..." He whispered painfully, slipping off of the door frame. Lomadia rushed over, catching the scientist before he hit the ground. His body was still bruised and battered from the torture he had been through; he was also a lot slimmer than he used to be. Lalna could hardly do anything without help from someone, and even then it was a struggle.

"You're in no state to be coming with us, Lalna." Honeydew said firmly. Lomadia guided him over to a seat, sitting next to him. Honeydew sat opposite the two. "You can hardly walk. Taking you would be like taking you to your grave." He pointed out. The scientist was going to protest, but instead had a different idea.

"At least...l-let me help." Lalna countered. "I...I c-can make some p-potion, or m-machine...then y-you can sneak...inside." He explained slowly, using a lot of energy just to speak. Shakily he brought his hand up, only a little, with two potions in his grasp. "I-Invisibility. It'll get you i-inside." Lalna smiled weakly. Lomadia took the potions from Lalna, placing a hand on his.

"Thank you, Lalna." She then looked at Honeydew, a thought hitting her. "We can't leave Lalna alone. He'll hardly survive an hour, if that." She pointed out. Lalna shook his head, another weak smile forming on his lips.

"I can manage." He replied. "I've got a machine t-that'll help." He smiled proudly, yet it was still a little weak. Lalna pressed a few buttons on a controller, and a robot moved into the doorway of his room. Honeydew nodded, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. He glanced at Lomadia.

"See? Lalna can take care of himself for a while. Anyway, we shouldn't be that long." He took Lomadia's hand to help her up. She seemed as fragile as Lalna did, from time to time; only because of her constant worry over Xephos. Now they'd be able to rectify that. The two walked over to the door, opening it when Lalna spoke again.

"Remember: they'll run out eventually. I'd say...a f-few hours? If you run out before hand, there'll be some kind of potions room, or the infirmary, and if you can't find that then go to the Mage's room. He'll definitely have something." Lalna called, and the door shut. He glanced over at his robot friend, who had moved to his side. "I hope they'll be ok." He murmured.

It didn't take too long for the two to get to the outer gates of the castle, after briskly making their way through the main town. It was then that it hit them. They had no idea where Xephos was, nor did they know the layout of the castle. The two glanced at each other, standing for a few moments. Honeydew then clicked his fingers, beginning to drag Lomadia with him.

"W-Where are we going, Honeydew?" She asked. Usually when the dwarf was going somewhere, it was either to a shop to find those Jaffa-thingies or to a cave to mine in. Hopefully it was neither of those this time.

"To a friend. He'll know the layout PERFECTLY. He did build the damn thing, after all." Honeydew smirked. They took various turns, this way and that, until they came to a small house. Mahogany adorned everything; the windows, roof, walls but specifically the door. Honeydew knocked on said door, and it soon opened. The two were greeted by a man in farmer's clothes, and a magnificent beard and moustache. Lomadia could even see dirt on said clothes; he must have been out in the fields recently. He glanced at the two, smiling,

"Honeydew! It's great to see you!" He said happily. Lomadia blinked as he watched the man. He certainly was...happy. It was odd, but refreshing. "Come in, come in! I'll make tea for you..."

"We'll come in, Sjin, but we don't have time for tea." Honeydew replied, as he entered the building. He glanced back at Lomadia. "Oh yeah. I forgot to introduce you two. Lomadia, this is Sjin. He's the best farmer and architect in the land." Sjin giggled. It was almost a bit girly.

"Well, I wouldn't go THAT far." He added, being too modest for his own good.

"It's true!" Honeydew insisted. "Anyway, Sjin, this is Lomadia. She's Xeph's girlfriend, and an owl lover." He continued, causing a slight blush to form on Lomadia's face. Lomadia moved her owl hat slightly, her gaze meeting Sjin's.

"H-Hi." She smiled. The two then walked inside, and Sjin closed the door behind them. The interior was the same as the exterior: mahogany. How one man could like mahogany so much was beyond Lomadia. Not that mahogany was bad, mind you. It's just...an obsession on this scale...

"Well, nice to meet you, Miss Lomadia." Sjin bowed. He then turned to the stairs, glancing up them. "Sips! Make yourself decent, we've got visitors!" He called.

"Who is it?"

"Honeydew and Xephos' girlfriend, Lomadia." Sjin replied.

"What's that dwarf doing here?" Came a shout, sounding slightly angry and slightly confused. Sjin rolled his eyes, telling the two to sit down. Honeydew took his regular seat, a small-ish one carved from mahogany that was sitting next to the fire. He always had an affinity for fire. Lomadia nervously sat down in another similar chair; it wasn't quite as elegant, but she didn't mind. She glanced around the room, seeing how homely it felt. It was almost like what your grandparents living room would look like. Pictures of various occasions were dotted on the walls. One particularly struck Lomadia's interest - Xephos, Honeydew, Lalna, Sjin and who she assumed Sips were all together in front of what looked like a factory. A day out, maybe? It must have been relatively recent, seeing as Xephos looked similar to what he did now. Maybe in the last year or two? She couldn't quite figure out what the factory was, but Honeydew was holding a lot of Jaffa cakes. A lot was an understatement.

"I don't know! We're just going to talk."

"...Alright." Sjin smiled a little, as he joined his two guests in the living room. Lomadia began to notice familiar signs around, like 'Sipsco' or 'Chilliwowas'. It suddenly clicked as she realised these two must be the 'legendary' Sips and Sjin. Some might say infamous, but they didn't seem that bad. At least, Sjin didn't. When did Xephos, Honeydew and Lalna meet them and become such good friends?

"So, what did you want to talk about, Honeydew?" Sjin asked. He seemed to have his own tea that he had made beforehand, and he took gentle sips from them. There was a bag of white substance that Lomadia, naively, assumed was sugar on the table next to a second cup. "Thinking about it, why have you brought Lomadia here, and not Xephos?" Honeydew sighed.

"That's...just it. Xephos has been captured." Sjin had to stop himself from choking when he heard that.

"Oh no...That's terrible." Sjin coughed out. "Was it today?"

"No. He's been there for a few weeks." This reply visibly shocked Sjin, his eyes growing wide.

"I haven't heard any rumours. I wonder why." Sjin glanced at the door, as a grey man with only a towel around his waist strolled in. "Sips! Guests!" He growled, a slight blush forming on his cheeks. The grey man shrugged, snuggling up beside Sjin.

"You said decent. Now, I think this is pretty decent." Sips pointed out, dumping the 'sugar' into the empty cup. "So, Xephos has been captured, eh? Ah...what a loss." He murmured, before tipping the cup back and letting some of the substance pour into his mouth. The four sat in silence for a while.

"H-Honeydew mentioned that you built the castle." Lomadia began, trying to continue the conversation without focusing too much on the almost naked man, and what she now realised he was doing. Oh how naïve she had been. Sjin nodded proudly.

"All by myself, I did. With these two hands." He looked at his hands. "Probably one of my greatest builds, I might add." He smiled. "There's a lack of mahogany though. That'd make the place even better." Sjin then blinked. "Why...is that relevant?" He asked.

"Well, that would mean you know it inside out, right? Like the back of your hand?" Honeydew inquired. Sjin nodded slowly. He still didn't quite get it. Sips rolled his eyes, tapping the farmer gently as he placed the now empty cup back on the table.

"They want to sneak in, dumb dumb. You're going to guide them." Sjin blinked. It finally sank in. "Anyway, how are you going to sneak in? It's not like you can just waltz up to the castle. That's something I would do." Sips smirked proudly, his arm draped across Sjin's chest as his hand rested on his waist. A slight blush was on the farmer's cheeks, but he interlinked his fingers with the grey man's on his waist. "You got some kind of plan?" Lomadia held out one of their invisibility potions. "Huh. Did blondy mix that up for ya?" He murmured.

"A-Anyway, why do you think I'm just going to agree to this?" The farmer asked, his hand clenching around Sips' gently. "I-It's really dangerous and we could all be going to our deaths." He pointed out.

"Sjin, please." Lomadia whispered. She could feel tears forming in her eyes again. "Xephos... He means everything to me. It...hurts so much." She murmured. Sjin watched Lomadia, thinking about how he would feel if he lost Sips. He wouldn't be able to bare it. He nodded, taking one of her hands in his.

"I'll do it." He replied. Lomadia smiled, nodding in thanks. "So, are we going now?" Sjin asked.

"We planned to." Honeydew chipped in. "Are you ready?" He asked. Sjin glanced at Sips, feeling a bit sad. He didn't want to leave his partner behind. Sips smirked, seeing Sjin's lip quiver slightly.

"Dummy, I'm coming too." He whispered, their lips connecting. They shared a small kiss, before the grey man turned to Honeydew. "Yeah. We're ready."

"You might want to get changed first, though."

A/N: Familiar Faces #2 and #3! Now, if I left THESE guys out, then...wow. But, I didn't. I've even mentioned Sjin before, so xD That might've been a clue that he'd eventually show up~
Also, I totally had this written out way before you even asked about seeing the others again, SpiritedandLoyal. I guess I have a good sense of timing xD